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"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."Maxim Gorky

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Day trippin'...

Yesterday I took a trip into the city for roving at the wool store.

Yup...I went roving for roving.

It was grey and stormy.

Chance of rain...150%.

I didn't mind though...after i had done my running around I settled

down in the window of a bakery cafe, book and camera at hand and glimpsed

at the wet world outside...

The book I just picked up is 'The Wild Places' by Robert MacFarlane.
It's an interesting study of his own search for genuine wild places.
His search begins in his own town of Cambridge, England and takes him
through Wales, Scotland and Ireland. He will climb, walk and swim in all sorts
of weather to understand the landscape and it's history in his search.
So far, so good. His writing is very evocative and full of the quest in understanding the natural world.

This day I was nowhere near the wilderness but in the hub of Victoria, a city I love.
If you live here on the coast, you must also certainly love the rain.

It may seem strange but true.
Although we huddle under umbrellas and rain gear, it is part of our lives
and as the saying goes in Ireland...
"there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing".

Even when I was a letter carrier for 9 years, I didn't mind so much.
You get out there with your rain poncho, put up with silly comments and do the job.

Before I left for home, I decided to take a quick trip through Chinatown.
It was Chinese New Year a few weeks ago so some of the decorations were still up.
The weather quickly changed, as it does at this time of year, and the sun came out for me...

So many colours...so many details...
At the top of every hour, a speaker plays Chinese music.

A look at the Benevolent Society from a different angle...

The old and the new...

The Chinese Public School is over a hundred years old and still educates primary age children...it's one of my favorite buildings around...

Public wall art depicting the changing times at the school..

A few of the old tenement buildings still inhabited...

...and a few not so much...

More public art on the walls of Chinatown...

February is the kind of month where the weather wears many different coats.
Spring-like sunny days with the bulbs coming in and days where the wind
can blow bitterly to the bone, flapping flags like crazy kites...

3 comments:

Looks like you had a good day in the city and got some great pics, as usual, I really like the ones of Chinatown. It's always nice to leave the countryside and visit a busy city every so often. Would love a visit to Dublin but not sure when that's going to happen as life is awfully busy at the moment,

Thanks for letting us sit with you and enjoy the rain... and the dessert bar (oooo...looks so tasty). I love the colorful pictures of Chinatown. And then the blessing of a rainbow as you returned home. What a great day.

About Me

I am an artist trying to make a living doing what I love.Sometimes its photography, sometimes needle felting, sometimes painting. I live on a five acre hobby farm in a rural area 45 minutes from Victoria B.C. I was a letter carrier for Canada Post for 10 years and after too many commutes and a few successful craft fairs, I decided to take the plunge and quit to pursue a life in the "starving artist" category. The holistic success has been tremendous. Living and learning along the way about myself, the world, the business of selling your wares and how it all affects you. Its all good.To have the gift of living where I live, and being able to walk amongst the trees and moss is a joy in my life. You can view some of my creations through my etsy shop at www.farmlass.etsy.com